• Still (1828-1917)

A physician, engineer and Methodist pastor, Still holds a special place in the history of medicine, emphasizing the unitary conception of the body. Agriculture and physics are for him the two main sources of analogy:“Every organ in the entire human body is part of one great working union. They work and do good and faithful work, until a member of the union is mistreated. Then the whole brotherhood stops to deliberate. “ [Still, Research and Practice in Osteopathy p7]

Osteopathy by Still or the agricultural analogy of medicine by a farmer

Still has particularly developed analogical thinking and pantheistic tendencies that lead him to compare the human body to an irrigated field where various seeds grow and to the idea that God has integrated disease and its remedy into the human body. Here are two analogies that Still will achieve:

• The first: “The field and the earth are the fasciae, the conjunctive, the matrix of the body; the rivers are the blood vessels and the nerves which carry food within them, but also “seeds” which are planted in the connective earth: will give good grass for the tissues or weed for the microbes. The rivers carry back dead grass and waste ”.
• The second analogy is mechanical since it compares the body to a set of interlocking objects, “Tendons are the belts between parts, bones are wheels, nerves and muscles are motors and the brain an electric battery. “

In most diseases, including internal ones, Still looked specifically for displaced vertebrae, because it is at the level of the spine that the center of the innervations and peripheral vascularizations of the human body is located, according to him. Starting from the hypothesis that the malposition of the vertebrae interfered with the functions of the nerves and the vessels, Still endeavored to ensure these functions by gentle manipulations of a bone (“osteon” in Greek) to restore the effectiveness of the self-healing mechanisms and allow them to act favorably on the evil. Functionality depended primarily on the unimpeded supply of nervous energy, blood and lymph to the body.

Still developed osteopathy and gained a reputation that extended beyond the borders of Missouri and Kansas. He created, in 1892, the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, allowing the extension of the osteopathic movement. The year Still died in 1917, one of his students:

• John Martin Littlejohn (1865 – 1947) from Great Britain will import osteopathy to Europe by creating the British School of Osteopathy in London.
• William Garner Sutherland (1873 – 1954),

Craniosacral Therapy

Contrary to what one might suppose, there is nothing mystical about this name, but is made up of the two terms “skull” and “sacrum”. It was an American, Dr. William Sutherland, a former student of Taylor Still, who began at the beginning of the 20th century to study the structures and functions of the bones of the skull and more particularly the sutures which connect these bones between them.

He detected a fine rhythmic pulse, a little slower than the heartbeat, which traversed the spine from the skull to the sacrum, and made other experiments before creating the discipline of “cranial osteopathy”. Although he presented his research to the Osteopathic Society in the 1940s, he was not recognized and honored until shortly before his death.

• Note that osteopathy was imported to France from Great Britain by Doctor Robert Lavezzari in 1932, by the creation of the first teaching in Paris. But very quickly, osteopathy was used as a medical specialty linked to rheumatology, retaining only the osteo-articular aspect, in particular thanks to the work of Dr Robert Maigne, rheumatologist (1923 – 2012).
• John upledger

In the 1970s, another practitioner, John Upledger, described a slightly different theory that gave birth to craniosacral therapy. Over the past 30 to 50 years, Craniosacral therapy has continued to be developed and found new directions and new strategies.

• Nowadays,we find these two currents although very close. On the one hand, the successors of William Garner Sutherland and supporters of cranial osteopathy, basing their treatment on the mobility of the bones of the skull via cranial sutures and on the other, the followers of the craniosacral theory, founded by John Upledger, who focus on the mobility of membranes between the skull and the sacrum.

The Poyet method

manual therapy Poyet method to loosen tensions, remove blockages and restore the body’s ability to self-regulate.

From the laws of osteopathy, this technique deals with the same issues. However, it gives pride of place to Primary Respiratory Movement (PRM): a micro-movement that animates each bone and organ of the body, very subtle and independent of the heartbeat. It is he who will guide both the diagnosis and the therapeutic gesture, whether it is at the articular, vertebral, muscular or membrane level, directed at the organs or tissues.

The discovery by M. Poyet, osteopath and physiotherapist who founded the method, of linear sequences or “chains” (set of interrelated bones, vertebrae and viscera), gives the practitioner the possibility of acting locally and remotely on several lesional disorders at the same time.

SOME DEFINITIONS

Cranial osteopathyis an integral part of the practice of some osteopaths. The osteopath concerned should have taken one of the recognized postgraduate training courses in order to acquire expertise in this field. Cranial osteopathy is a refined and subtle type of osteopathic treatment that promotes the release of stress and tension throughout the body, including the head.

It is a gentle but extremely effective approach that can be used in a wide range of conditions for people of all ages, from newborns to seniors.

The interconnection between internal organs, the spine and pathological states is fundamental to understanding the practice of osteopaths. Sometimes the organs can give symptoms that mimic or lead to spinal dysfunction and pain. Sometimes it’s the other way around when the problem with the spine leads to visceral dysfunction. Visceral techniques in osteopathy involve the use of a very specific and smooth unwinding of the supporting ligaments and fascia that support the internal organs. Treatment of visceral scar tissue and long-standing dysfunctional conditions in irritable bowel syndrome or chronic period pain are just two examples of this type of approach.

Cranial osteopathy is a type of impact on the body that affects the bones of the skull, and through them, the contents.

This osteopathy area was created a hundred years ago by VG Sutherland, student and successor of AT Still, and since then cranial osteopathy has proven its effectiveness on a daily basis. VG Sutherland discovered another system in our body: – the craniosacral system, which has become a central concept in cranial osteopathy. It includes the bones of the skull, the membranes of the skull, the brain and the spinal cord; fluids, the main one being cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); and the sacrum, which oscillates relative to the iliac bones. The craniosacral system has its own rate of movement, the norm being six to twelve cycles per minute.

This rhythm spreads throughout the body and can be felt in any part of it. The craniosacral system has a great impact on all other systems of the body, arterial and nervous. Maintaining the normal rhythm of the craniosacral system, the normal amplitude and strength of this rhythm, is of utmost importance in osteopathy because general health depends on it. Changes in this system mainly occur due to changes in the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid and its pulsation. Depending on the quality of these changes, a person’s physical and emotional state changes, both positively and negatively. There are special osteopathic techniques, applied to the skull and the sacrum, to influence this system. Cranial osteopathy focuses on restoring harmony to all parts of the craniosacral system, which leads to the balance and harmony of the human body as a whole. It restores the mobility of all anatomical components, as well as the conductivity of fluids (blood, CSF), and nerve impulses.

The pre-assumed positive impactCranial osteopathy focuses on the blood circulation in the brain and throughout the body; flexibility and mobility of joints, conductivity of nerve impulses. 

Craniosacral therapy originated from cranial osteopathy, which was developed about 50 years ago from “osteopathy” practiced in the United States and has since evolved into the most diverse forms of its discipline. It is a subtle form of manual labor in which the therapist “watches” the cranial rhythm and detects disturbances in the patient’s cranial system. By perceiving the pulsating movements of the skull, the therapist can diagnose, among other things, stasis, restrictions and tensions in the system. At the origin of these movements is the primary respiratory mechanism, responsible for the production, fluctuation and resorption of cerebrospinal fluid, mainly in the skull. The subtle rhythmic movements are transmitted to the cranial bones and the cerebral meninges.
The goal is always to dissipate tensions and blockages so that the cranial pulse is well perceived and transmitted to all regions of the body and all tissues.

As a therapy acting on the bone elements, osteopathy includes the manual treatment of the most diverse organ and body systems. Visceral techniques, applied among other things to internal organs, aim to loosen adhesions to ligaments and organic fasciaes in order to improve blood supply and, ultimately, organ function.

The osteopath also works on the spine and removes blockages in the vertebrae, so that nerves and vessels can move freely without compressing the muscle tissue. Craniosacral osteopathy is a combination of several osteopathic methods which includes the fascias, connective tissues and organs with their functional interactions in the therapeutic process. The goal is, here again, to facilitate unhindered movement of the cerebrospinal fluid, and the sliding of the fasciae (components of the soft parts of the connective tissue) and thereby ensure better blood supply to all body tissues and organic structures, necessary and sufficient condition of a healthy bodily system according to the conception of Taylor Still.

The therapist practices special grips of the skull, spine, sacrum, trunk or extremities, which he releases in a light movement of traction or displacement of liquids and tissues. It thus addresses not only the inflammatory or painful focus, but the entire body system. The therapist acts in parallel on several systems: membrane, fluid, bone, connective and nervous.

By subtle manipulations, it perceives the pulsed movements and evaluates the differences in rhythm, amplitude or frequency and the stasis, restrictions and tensions in the system. He chooses the area of ​​action and softens the structures by specific interventions on the bones of the skull, the vertebrae or the sacrum. The membrane structures (cerebral and medullary meninges) are unblocked and released from their tensions.

This allows the system to regain mobility as normal as possible, and the cerebrospinal fluid to circulate more freely and without clogging in the spaces it occupies, in particular in the central nervous system, and thus regain all of its functions.

Contraindications

However, there are few contraindications to this therapy.
Clear contraindications are recent injury, head / brain trauma, cerebral infarction, tumor, or elevated intracranial pressure.

What is visceral osteopathy?

Visceral osteopathy is an expansion of the general principles of osteopathy which includes a special understanding of the organs, blood vessels, and nerves of the body (the viscera). Visceral osteopathy relieves imbalances and restrictions in the interconnections between the movements of all organs and structures in the body. Jean-Piere Barral RPT, DO built on the principles of Andrew Taylor Still DO and William Garner Sutherland DO, to create this method of detailed evaluation and very specific manipulation

• Specificities of osteopathy compared to conventional medicine

Dr. AT Still, the father of osteopathy, was the first to describe these principles. Over time, these original principles have been adjusted and modernized based on current knowledge in medical science. Osteopathy does not seek to compete with conventional medicine. This perfectly treats diseases, infections and inflammations – in short: structural dysfunctions. After all, where would we be without antibiotics or surgical techniques? But “health” is much more than that. Every day, we are exposed to mechanical stresses when we play sports or when we move. It is not difficult to imagine that the mechanical function can be interrupted; a joint can become blocked following a traumatic effort, a fall or direct impact can cause bleeding which will in turn lead to adhesions. We are also under the influence of daily metabolic stress; modern diet is not always optimal and can lead to organ dysfunction (visceral). The osteopath takes into account the quality of the tissues associated with the patient’s complaint and tends to optimize this tissue quality by reducing any mechanical, vascular, neurological and metabolic functional stress. The quality of life is then positively influenced and the body’s natural resistance to disease is strengthened. modern diet is not always optimal and can lead to organ dysfunction (visceral). The osteopath takes into account the quality of the tissues associated with the patient’s complaint and tends to optimize this tissue quality by reducing any mechanical, vascular, neurological and metabolic functional stress. The quality of life is then positively influenced and the body’s natural resistance to disease is strengthened. modern diet is not always optimal and can lead to organ dysfunction (visceral). The osteopath takes into account the quality of the tissues associated with the patient’s complaint and tends to optimize this tissue quality by reducing any mechanical, vascular, neurological and metabolic functional stress. The quality of life is then positively influenced and the body’s natural resistance to disease is strengthened.